Farner delights hometown crowd

REVIEW (WJRT) -- Though he grew up just blocks away from Flint's historic Atwood Stadium, "The Rock Patriot" Mark Farner and his Grand Funk comrades never played a concert at the 11,000-seat local football haven.
Of course, it wasn't for lack of desire on Farner's part.
"I've always wanted to play Atwood Stadium," he said. "I told the guys back in the day we need to go back to Flint and Grand Funk needs to play Atwood Stadium. But it just never happened."
Farner never forgot his roots, however, and was more than happy to serve as the grand finale of Back to the Bricks and the city's newly titled Flint Revival Celebration. A day-long classic car show and concert set had all of downtown Flint in full party mode and the carnival-like While some concerts are known as much for their overpriced concessions as their musical experience, vendors at Atwood were mindful of their community's current economic climate. Bottles of water were priced at $1, Little Caesar's offered slices of pie for $1.25, and of course, hot dogs, french fries and cotton candy could be had for reasonable prices as well.
Local restaurants used the opportunity to drum up some business too. Mike's Triple Grille and Flushing's Roaring 20's Ice Cream Parlor were just a sampling of businesses who jumped at the chance to put their name front-and-center at a true rock 'n roll legend's concert.
And though Farner has played to much larger crowds, including a sold-out Shea Stadium in 1971, he seemed somewhat giddy and anxious before his gig in downtown Flint, proclaiming that "this is going to be the best concert of my life."
After letting his bandmates get settled, Farner ran onto the stage at Atwood shortly after his scheduled start time and jumped right into the aptly named "Are You Ready" while making sure to blow kisses to his hometown crowd. His purple and blue tie-dyed, sleeveless tank and snug blue jeans were a welcome sight to Farner's funky fans, which included Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, who found himself a seat in the second row.
Walling, who presented Farner with a key to the city on Friday, said before the show that he was dedicated to changing Flint's tarnished image. While Farner is almost certainly in favor of returning Flint to its glory days, he made it clear that there is no changing necessary when it comes to its musical effigy.
"It's good to be home," he told the crowd. "The city of Flint is really...the city of funk."
While the crowd was still buzzing from his opening number, Farner made sure to keep up the pace with "Rock & Roll Soul" and "Footstompin' Music." The crowd followed suit and amped up their excitement as the rhythm of the beating drums and pulsing bass took hold of the entire stadium. You know you are at a rock show when your heartbeat abandons its normal pulsation and instead takes on the beat of the bass line.
Farner continued to play to the crowd, tossing his wristband and his guitar pick to random, lucky fans. Though it was unclear if he was sweating more from the lights or Saturday's uncomfortable heat and humidity, Farner never broke stride. And as the sun went down, the lights shone brighter while he made sure to hit on all the Grand Funk classics.
"We're An American Band" was early on the playlist, with Farner adding "We're an American band from Flint, Michigan." And as the show went on, his crowd grew livelier. Though some were happy with their seats in the bleachers at the 50-yard-line, much of the crowd realized that was prime real estate only at football games, and chose instead to pack the AstroTurf between the 20s.
Farner made sure to bear witness to the crowd by mentioning his faith in God -- he's a "cussin' Christian" -- which seemed appropriate given his foray into contemporary Christian music. He also let his fans know that he believes in the power of prayer, confiding in them that he asked his Lord, "God, please don't let us suck," before the show.
With God and everyone else on his side, Farner and his bandmates continued belting out hit after hit. Even former Grand Funk mate Craig Frost made some appearances to help out, and tunes like "Shinin' On" and "Mean Mistreater" got fans ready for a stretch run that was sure to leave everyone wanting more.
The 1975 mega-hit "Bad Time" got the crowd moving and swaying, which is where you could really tell that this wasn't Farner's first rock show. While the audience still had their dancing shoes on, he urged them to do "The Loco-Motion." And of course, they responded in kind.
The train winded its way through the crowd in front of the stage, and while I'm not saying some took advantage of the dance to gain a better vantage point, I will say that the VIP section was noticeably fuller once the song ended.
"Some Kind of Wonderful" followed and included the biggest audience participation moment of the night so far, with the crowd nearly drowning Farner out with the lyrics "Can I get a witness?" at the song's bridge.
Farner then thanked his hometown crowd and called it a night, though very few fans made their way to the exits. Shouts of "encore" began almost immediately, so Farner wasted no time appeasing them. It's not like we didn't know he had one more song left in him. Were they really going to sell T-shirts with "I'm Your Captain" printed on them and not play the song?
It turned out to be the perfect choice for an encore as Farner and his crowd -- which had a fascinating rapport throughout the night -- brought the evening to a climax as they both eased into the song's soothing "I'm getting closer to my home" lyrics. It sounded so flawless that you would swear Farner practiced it with the crowd before the show.
Fans who showed up at Atwood Stadium on Saturday night hoping little had changed in Farner's act or his funky rhythms did not leave disappointed. This was not a farewell tour, and if you wished to be so bold, you might even say it was just an opening act. Farner and his loyal crowd together showed that this homecoming could certainly work as a yearly event.
It may not have been 185,000 at Shea, and promoters may have actually expected a bigger crowd than they received, but the hometown feel is what was truly special -- and what is truly worth repeating. atmosphere at Atwood seemed perfect for Farner's homecoming.


http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/entertainment&id=6967365